Demonic Nights
by SinfulGemini
Summary: Maya, youngest son of the Hizume tamer clan, wishes to become a strong exorcist despite having no talent for it. Belal, an imp archdemon and prankster, wouldn't pass up a chance to go to Assiah. What happens when a forbidden technique makes their fates intertwine? Co-written.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** **: We do not own Ao no Exorcist, otherwise known as Blue Exorcist. We only own the plot and whatever Original Characters you will come across while reading this.**

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His breathing was shallow and his eyes nervously darted across the room every few seconds. In his trembling hands sat an old, dirty book. Whenever he spared it a glance, a huge grin tugged at his lips, almost making him forget how anxious he felt.

He couldn't quite believe he was doing this. When he'd first heard about this book from one of his demonology tutors, he would've never expected to actually come across it.

"Some say your ancestors created an extraordinary summoning tome, one that can give you the power to call upon any demon you want. It is an interesting legend, and if it did exist, it would surely be a forbidden item." the tutor had said to him then. The boy had hanged on his every word, a rare sight when it came to those tearfully boring lessons. A book like that could make all of his dreams and wishes come true.

He knew it was just a story the teacher had mentioned to make him pay attention, but the boy couldn't let go of the possibility that this legend could be true. If there was anyone that could create such an item, it would definitely be his familyー the Hizume clan, which had been producing elite tamers for generations on end.

He'd searched the mansion grounds for days on end and almost lost all hope before he remembered the old warehouse where his father kept exorcist-related things he didn't need anymore. It was an eerie wooden shed located in one of the deepest corners of the manor's enormous garden. Nobody had been in there for years.

There were piles upon piles of odd looking tools and furniture that revealed a small room in the back once pushed away. Inside was even more junk, plagued with dust and mould. He even stumbled upon a few rat and spider nests. The search there was traumatising, but it had paid off in the end. Because hidden behind a pile of books and a crack in the wall was the thing he'd been so desperately looking for.

He couldn't suppress a small giggle as he relived that moment of victory in his head, feeling incredibly proud of himself. The legend was right here in his handsー he had found it without anyone's help, and now it was _his_!

It was nothing but a small, yellowed out notebook filled with a bunch of messy scribbles at first glance, but there was no mistaking the circles drawn inside of it. He knew they had to be special since he'd never seen anything like them during his lessons before.

He skimmed through its pages, and soon found the circle diagram and chant that he had been deciphering the past few weeks. The boy grabbed the chalk he'd brought with him and started copying the image, praying the lines wouldn't be too crooked from his trembling fingers. It was complicated, filled with many difficult shapes and symbols that he had practised before, but still wasn't completely confident at.

But tonight was his best chance to try this out. He didn't want to wait anymoreー this was the only way to prove himself. He knew that without this, he would always be just ' _that rich brat_ _who's not as talented as his siblings'_. While he had the potential to be a tamer like everyone else in his family, he couldn't dare to compare to the three prodigies in his generation. While his brothers and sister could already summon upper-class demons, all that came out from his circles were tiny greenmen that wouldn't even listen to him.

With this book, however, he could (theoretically) summon and control whatever he wanted, from the youngest and weakest demons to the oldest and strongest archdemons. And maybe... even nobles?

The endless possibilities only fueled his urge to finish drawing the circle, and he did so in almost record time. His gaze shifted to the book so he could compare the diagrams for any apparent mistakes, and it once again struck him how familiar the main outline was to their family emblem.

There were a few wobbly lines, but the basis looked fine. This had to do, he decided impatiently.

"What to summon first?" he whispered, excitement evident in his voice. He looked through the notes he'd written inside of the book again.

Despite his recklessness, he was aware of the dangers that came in hand with summoning an archdemon out of the blue. While it was possible in theory, he didn't know how this strange, unfamiliar kind of ritual really worked. Some sort of a lesser demon would be a safer choice for a test run.

He couldn't help but snort when his eyes landed on a familiar looking picture in his searchー An old inked drawing of an imp, a lesser-class demon he'd recently learned about. They were nothing but ugly little pranksters that couldn't do any kind of major damage. Even then, he could only dream of summoning a demon like this.

...But, with this book in his possession, he was not the same person he used to be.

With it, he would conquer the world!

He double-checked the summoning instructions and his eyes landed on the list of offerings, making him cringe at what he needed to put in the circle to successfully perform the ritual.

A strand of his hair, a drip of his blood, and a fingernail.

A chill passed through his body.

It was just a nail. He could quickly take it off while biting on a cloth, he was a small price to pay for finally being able to summon a powerful demon. He could do this. He could use the blood that would definitely come from removing his nail as the second offering, too. After that he could add some of his hair, and try to say the gibberish that was on the page. Really, was this stuff even Japanese? He rechecked the furigana he had written over the signs, which looked more like gibberish at first glance, to make sure that he would pronounce the incantation correctly. Then he drew in a deep breath.

 _Focus._

He could do this. For power.

He picked up the candle that lit the place and scanned the room carefully. He shuddered when his eyes registered the thing he was looking for. It was a small wooden plank with some kind of metal device on it that he'd seen when he was checking out the basement prior. He grunted when he grabbed the item, surprised at how heavy it was, and slowly put it on the table.

A nail ripper. A device considered ancient in this day and age. Nowadays, exorcists used a smaller tool that was similar to pliers. But since he didn't own that nor did he have the leisure to 'borrow' one from somewhere, he had no choice but to go with this.

He reluctantly slid his index finger into the metal contraption. All he had to do now was use the lever.

He put a piece of fabric in his mouth and bit into it to stifle the screams he knew would come. Then, he slammed his hand onto the device before he could have any second thoughts.

The response was immediate. It felt like his finger had suddenly been set on fire. His whole arm throbbed in pain and disgust, and his eyes burnt as a whimper escaped his clogged throat. His teeth dug into the cloth while he controlled his breathing. He forced his eyes shut and tried to wait the worst pain out like that. It wasn't much better when that subsided, though, as he could still _feel_ the place where the nail used to be.

By the time he calmed down a little and opened his eyes, his whole hand was numb and his clothes were sticking to him. He bit on the fabric harder and took the nail between his weak fingers. He threw it in the circle, avoiding looking at it. He took a deep breath and grabbed the neglected book from the table, looking the recitation over one last time.

Spitting the fabric outside the circle, he groggily ripped a few hair strands from his head, barely registering the pain thanks to his injured finger. He did his best to pronounce the words making up the incantation as he let blood from his hand drip onto the circle. It took about three minutes for him to finish, because his mouth didn't feel like producing much else than pained moans.

Finally, the circle gave off the familiar cold, white light that told him the ritual was successful. However, something stopped him from celebrating. The feeling it gave off was almost… wrong. And even after the light faded, the imp wasn't anywhere to be seen.

That was odd. He had failed many regular summonings during his taming lessons, but there was always something, like a bit of smoke, coming out of the circle. Not... _nothing_.

Suddenly, he felt something stir inside of him. The air itself stiffened and dread began to build up in his stomach.

This was when he remembered his very first taming lesson. The tutor emphasised on a very important rule, and he didn't know how he could have forgotten. Maybe it was the pain? The excitement? The boy could only grit his teeth in fear and take a step back as the words echoed in his mind.

" _Follow the exact instructions, and never reverse the order of the materials needed. It could lead to a disaster, or worse, death."_

"Shit…"

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 **A/N:**

 **Hello, I'm Yummychii! That's my main account on FFnet.**

 _ **And I'm Sachiko13, the second writer. Together, we are cring- I mean, Sinful Gemini.**_

 **I dragged Sachiko, who used to really hate OCs in fics, into writing this with me by poking at her sinful fantasies.**

 _ **(And now she expects me to say something about the gemini part, but I'm not gonna give her the pleasure) In the end, this story ended up becoming our precious child, along with all the OCs in it.**_

 **We plan on nurturing this child with as much care as we can possibly give. Which is why the updates might be a little erratic, so I'll apologise on Sachiko's behalf for any future delays. Sorry!**

 _ **We also seem to fall in the habit of editing over each other, especially my dear Chii trying to be overly elaborate, so until we become a more united existence, please do point out any inconsistencies or errors you find! We'll be glad to hear any helpful criticism and opinions. With that, I'd like to thank my lovely soul-twin and hope you'll be patient with us.**_

 **I'm still an inexperienced writer, so please tell us about anything out of the ordinary, like grammar and bad sentence structures that Sachiko or I didn't notice because of how much we look over a chapter. We'll try our best to minimise those things, but new pairs of eyes will always help! I deeply thank Sachiko for her patience with my elaborateness.**


	2. Chapter 2

Living in Gehenna sucked.

You couldn't take a dip in the lake without getting your ass boiled. Breathing in deeply would make your nose itch from the acidic air. Seeing more than five steps ahead was impossible because of the damn mist. And to top it off, pretty much everyone here were assholes whose preferred means of communication was a punch to the face.

There was only one thing that made my life in Gehenna actually entertaining. And that thing was pranking.

The majority of Gehenna denizens would probably agree with me that there was nothing more satisfying than screwing with another demon. But unlike most of them, I didn't bully weaker guys for the sake of boosting my ego. I took my time to humiliate the types that liked to do that instead.

The stronger the target was, the better. Succeeding was much more rewarding then. Each elaborate prank with its rigorous preparations made me grow stronger. My confidence had actual roots in accomplishments, contrary to all the empty show-offs around. The proof of my hard work was my rank – I, The Great Belal, was probably the only imp-archdemon in Gehenna.

Despite that, demons still looked down on me because of my race. And the merchant and his lackeys that were currently chasing me weren't any different. It hadn't taken the guy more than one look at me to try and rip me off by overpricing my favourite hellflower fruit. Probably thought I was an underling for some rich demon because of my dragonskin coat. Bastard.

But, the polite archdemon I was, I had decided to properly pay him… with some self-enchanted coins. The one horned idiot's scream had been marvellous when they'd exploded in his face. Even now, I couldn't stop grinning as I remembered how he'd looked.

"Don't let him escape!" an angry shout resounded through the marketplace. I put a hand over my mouth so my laughter wouldn't give away my hiding spot.

I dashed out of there as soon as the footsteps of my chase grew louder, running towards the crowded intersection of the marketplace. Thanks to my short height, I could smoothly blend into the horde of demons. An easy escape.

"There he is! The imp with the red tail!"

Shit _._

While I did love my ginger, fluffy tail, it also put me in trouble because of how much it stood out. Most imps had black tails, so mine was brighter and easier to spot. I had been hoping the coat would hide it, but it must have ridden up at some point.

I pushed through the crowd in an attempt to shake off my pursuers, but I could barely move in this mass of demons. It felt downright suffocating - I didn't have much experience with crowds as they were a rare occurrence. Today, the demons gathered in this place because a powerful archdemon reigning over a nearby territory, Andras, decided to parade through here with his underlings.

Some of the weaker demons took events like this as an opportunity to receive the archdemon's protection and join his ranks while some were merchants eager to earn some cash by selling their wares. Others simply came to enjoy the festivities around it, myself included. I'd be going around the other stalls right about now if I hadn't been ripped off.

Unfortunately, my pursuers were more used to navigating crowds than I was. Before I could break out of the sea of bodies, one of them lunged at me and grabbed the end of my tail. Goosebumps immediately spread over my whole body and I suppressed a scream.

"I finally got you, you stinky imp!" One of the merchant's lackeys, a three-eyed ape, screeched and yanked at my tail. I growled.

 _Satan's hairy ass, does this guy have no standards?!_ Everyone knew how insanely sensitive tails were, and it was common courtesy not to touch them carelessly. I tried to gently pull it out of his grip, but it didn't budge.

I figured that there was no point in forcing him to let go, so I swiftly dove my hand into one of my pockets and grabbed another enchanted coin. With a subtle flick of my wrist, it soared into the sky. Thanks to my speedy, skilled hands, the ape noticed the coin only when it landed on top of his head. Contact made it burst instantly.

He let go of my tail in his shock. That seemed to attract unnecessary attention, though, as the surrounding demons beganmaking a ruckus. Exactly what I didn't need right now. If this kept on, Andras would probably think I wanted to claim his turf or something, when in reality I couldn't be bothered over territorial wars.

"What's all that noise?" a deep voice growled from the other side of the crowd. A large wolf head covered in thick black fur towered over most of the demons, a lone red eye looking my way. One of the archdemon's vassals. When he had turned to me, the demons around me stepped away in fear.

"Not good," I mumbled. I could take on one or two of these mutts with ease, but their master was a different story. Andras was a wind demon. We didn't exactly have good affinity. "Gotta get out of here and fast."

As if someone decided to fulfill my wish, I suddenly felt a tug in my chest, urging me to look up. Bright light assaulted my eyes. It was a fiery red summoning circle. The feeling in my chest grew more intense, burning me from inside and forcing me to go through it. My instincts screamed to get away, but I didn't move from my spot.

I've seen my fair share of summoning circles, but never for me, so I was honestly surprised. On top of being an archdemon, I was an imp. Most humans that had an affinity to my race weren't powerful enough to connect with someone like me.

A human capable of summoning an irregular imp was definitely a rarity, and I've always wanted to see Assiah. I grinned at the interesting turn of events. This could as well be my only chance to get a break from this boring hellhole shitty Satan calls a kingdom.

I stopped resisting the pull of the massive circle, springing up towards it instead. I jumped slightly to the side and focused magic into my legs. Then, as I landed straight on the ape's face, my fortified muscles hit him so hard it created a crack in the ground below him, and he sunk into the soil up to his knees.

Since most of the jump power went into grounding the ape, I opened my wings to gain momentum and rose to the crimson sky with a mighty swing. The circle was within a hand's reach, and the pull became even stronger than before. Now that I could see it from up close, the pattern looked strange. The unusual colour aside, it had fucking _squares_ in the design, something I haven't seen before.

My instincts were telling me it was somehow… obscure. But, I couldn't have second thoughts now. Even if I wanted to reconsider, I couldn't resist the magic of the connection this close to it. And so, with another flap of my wings and a deep breath, I went through it.

The moment I did, a light brighter than Satan's flames slowly engulfed my vision.

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When I realised it, there was nothing around me. No shapes, no colours, no noises. The emptiness in the surrounding space was empowering. Absolute, in some strange, off sense.

I must have blacked out at some point. _Where the hell am I?_ But, even before I finished asking myself that question, I already knew the answer.

I was nowhere. Not in Gehenna, but not in Assiah, either. It was a simple answer, but it was still hard to comprehend. Had I stopped somewhere in between the two realms? Well, shit… I should have expected something like this after seeing that weird-ass summoning circle with _squares_ in it.

 _Well, what's done is done. Even if I'm stuck, this place should be like a bridge everyone going to Assiah has to pass, right? All I need to do is push my way through._

Trying to move made me realise that I _couldn't._ There was nothing to move. No arms, legs, or wings. No body to speak of. In this void, I was nothing but a lone soul floating in place.

The extreme, pressing despair one would expect at realising something like that wasn't there. It was far beyond the limits of my understanding, and so the weight of it didn't really hit me. Instead, I wondered if my soul looked cool enough. I mean, it should be obvious, right? A handsome demon like me had to have a noble-looking, amazing soul.

What did a soul look like anyway? I remembered making a bet on it once when I'd gotten way too drunk at a feast. A ghost claimed that their body itself was their soul, while an Oni believed that theirs was as hard as their skin and as heavy as their strongest punch. Looking back at it now, it really was the stupidest bet ever. I couldn't exactly look at myself in here, after all.

As if summoned by my thoughts, a small light flickered in the distance.

It took me a bit to realise that I was floating towards it. Soon, I could see it was a small, round white flame with a bluish tint. Something inside of me knew that this was a soul. It was tiny and fragile-looking, swaying from side to side as if an invisible breeze was blowing into it. And with each sway, it got smaller and even less noticeable. It was melting away into the void and I couldn't do anything but watch as it did.

The petite soul was soon robbed of its flame and what was left was an ever-present white spark. A small dot shining within the void. I was still being pulled towards it, with no real choice in the matter. I strangely didn't want to oppose it, though. I knew it was inevitable.

It began to emit a bright light as I came into contact with it, blocking my vision. Then my brain skipped over a million thoughts.

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In a split second, all of my bodily senses returned. It was so sudden and overwhelming that I tumbled down to the ground with a loud thud. The burst of sensations in my mind left me gasping for air. Even the feeling of my chest expanding was somehow foreign after the brief moment I spent in the void. The bridge of my nose also felt heavy, as if there was something on my face. And… was it just my imagination, or was the air really cold and thin? It was unnatural, the opposite of what I was used to. Had the summoning succeeded?

My blurry vision cleared up and I could finally see where I was. The place was dimly lit. The only source of light was a candle placed on a sturdy-looking table that was right next to me. Looking up at it, I realised I was sitting on the ground. Grabbing the table with one hand, I pulled myself up, but my head immediately began spinning. I was forced to lean onto the table so I wouldn't fall down. My free hand covered my mouth to stop myself from throwing up, and I took deep breaths to lessen the sudden nausea that overcame me.

It took me a bit to regain my balance, and when I did, I looked around once more. I was inside a spacious room with bare walls and no windows. There were a lot of large boxes scattered around the room, some piled on top of each other. What made me stop was the thing on the ground next to me – it was the familiar summoning circle with weirdass squares. It was white, probably drawn with chalk, and slightly smudged.

Well, this confirmed it. I was in Assiah. But if that was the case, where was the human that had summoned me? I turned around in search for them, but I was all alone.

"Anyone there?" I shouted, but the sound that came out of my mouth was completely off. It was high-pitched and annoying, a complete opposite of the cool and menacing tone I was used to hearing. A squeak.

What the hell?! That was _not_ my sexy voice.

I looked down, and my focus went to the two tiny feet at the edge of the circle. Those feet definitely connected to my body, but looked nothing like mine did. Nor did the two lanky twigs that were supposed to be legs, or the thin torso above it. I raised my hand, flexing my fingers and tracing the movements with utter confusion and panic. The fingers were tiny, the skin pale and unlike the dark tone I sported in Gehenna. And the nails weren't the black, long nails that I used to sharpen with pride. They were blunt and flimsy-looking.

 _This isn't my hand._

The realisation that this wasn't my hand, nor my body hit harder than an undead dragon's spiral attack, making me sick in the stomach. I strained my back muscles, trying to raise my wings, but didn't feel anything except fabric sticking to my sweaty skin.

I cursed at my wings for going limp. No… that wasn't right. they weren't limp and I knew it. I just didn't want to accept the fact that they weren't there. Grasping at straws, I tried moving the end of my spine. The sensation I was used to was gone.

Where the _fuck_ are my wings and tail?

Examining my hand again, I noticed a red liquid trickling down from the index finger. It was coming from a place where a nail should be, so it was probably blood, but my common sense was denying that notion. My blood should have been darker and thicker. I gulped down the bile that worked its way up my throat, and I wrapped the slender digits around my neck. _Breakable_ neck.

 _Why was I not in my own body?_

I repeated that to myself as if asking for an explanation. Of course, none came.

"What the FUCK!"

The squeak that came out instead of the expected shout grated my ears. I stumbled on my own feet, bumping into some boxes behind me. Another squeaky curse left my mouth as they hit the ground with an echoing thud. Dust raised from the fallen boxes, and as soon as it settled down, I had the circle before my eyes once more.

And then it clicked. My jaw dropped before I clenched it in anger. It took me a moment to control my shaking limbs. This tamer, _this stupid tamer,_ had stood inside of the circle when he'd attempted the summon.

That explained it.

And yet, it did not.

Where was my body? Shouldn't it have come with me to Assiah? Why the fuck did this stupid human stand in the goddamn centre? He ruined fucking _everything!_

The weakness this body radiated was suffocating. Despite how thin the air around me was, each breath weighed me down. I didn't do weak. And yet, I was trapped in this frail body, like a phoenix chick stuck in a slab of ice.

Behind the sound of my heartbeat hammering in my ears, I could vaguely hear something above me. As the sound became louder, the rhythm and heaviness of it made it clear that it was footsteps, nearing the room I was currently in. Whoever it was, it was likely they were headed here.


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